8. Rhys
The little omega is everything Lawson promised and more.
I have to admit when he first told us Lainey was a scent match, I assumed he was bullshitting.
Or maybe not bullshitting , but definitely lost in the sauce of learning she’s pregnant with Lucky’s baby.
But sure as anything, the second I crossed the threshold to her hospital room it felt like I had been hit by a twenty ton combine.
And liked it .
Her delicious berry pie scent filled my nostrils before wrapping around my lungs like a vice.
I swear I haven’t taken a full breath since the moment I locked eyes on her soot streaked face.
There’s no way to tell if she has a baby belly with the baggy hospital gown and half a dozen blankets Law piled over the little darling in his quest to comfort her, but suddenly every instinct I have is begging me to shove all that shit aside and find out if her body is showing any outward signs that she’s carrying my baby.
Because regardless of DNA, that baby is mine. My mama would tan my hide black and blue if I treated a pack baby like anything other than my own blood.
Lainey scoffs when I inform her she won’t be staying with her friend, and I think it is supposed to be intimidating, but she’s like an angry little kitten puffing up her fur to look menacing. The overall effect is cute as all hell. “And who are you to tell me who I can and cannot stay with?”
I’m sure the guys are going to kick my ass for this later, but I think this little girl could use a dose of the truth. Smirking, I stare down at her with nothing but challenge in my eyes. “Your scent matches, darlin’.”
Her eyes go wide as she gasps. Wyatt groans, Lucky snickers under his breath, and Law pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply like he’s contemplating my untimely demise. “What the hell are you talking about?” she snaps.
My eyes roll, but I almost smile at her precious murderous glare.
“Come on, darlin’,” I drawl. “Don’t tell me our scents haven’t been soothing you from the minute you opened those gorgeous brown eyes.
We can all see the heart monitor up there.
” I point vaguely to the little square screen on the wall next to her bed.
“As soon as you caught Law’s scent during your existential crisis earlier, your heart slowed right down.
He is a stranger to you. Your omega would likely have clawed his eyes out if he wasn’t your scent match.
And Lucky? You have a one night stand outside of a heat on suppressants and somehow end up pregnant?
Unheard of… outside of a scent match. Scent matches supersede everything.
Modern medicine, logic, instincts, laws, all of it. I mean, hell, Lucky even…”
“Shut the fuck up, Rhys!” Lucky barks. His pale cheeks are tomato red and even though the tips of his ears are covered by hair I have no doubt they are as well.
He turns to Lainey, a nervous smile plastered on his lips.
“Don’t listen to him. Lucky was looking for you, but he didn’t do anything weird.
All totally normal, asking around, pining alpha shit. Nothing weird. ”
Lainey’s eyes are like saucers as her gaze darts between us. Lucky is an idiot, but he’s right. I shouldn’t be spilling his secrets like that.
“Anyway,” I continue. “You’ll come and stay with us.”
I watch a million emotions fly across her face before she finally settles on resignation. I can see why Lucky has been so obsessed with her; she’s surprised me at every turn thus far. This little omega is going to keep us on our toes, I already know it.
Lainey’s dorm is still under investigation after the fire when she’s discharged a few hours later, so we bundle her up and take her straight to the pack house.
I was raised in an upper middle class family in Georgia, but Law and Luck were on another level.
Their dad was a successful real estate developer and their mom was a nurse practitioner with old family money, so they were very well off when they passed, and our pack house reflects that.
It isn’t ostentatious, but it is a six bedroom, seven bathroom, New England style “cottage” with a pack bedroom overlooking the harbor, a home theater, hot tub, like four fireplaces, and a fully stocked library with floor to ceiling shelves.
Okay, so it might be ostentatious. But it’s our home. The place we’re bringing our omega home to and where we will hopefully bring our baby home to, as well.
We all took separate cars to the hospital and I got the honor of driving her home, which means I get to sneak peeks at her expression as we pull into the wraparound driveway.
Her jaw drops and draws my attention to a little mole on her neck.
The thought of kissing it makes my lips tingle and I turn away before she catches me staring like a creep.
Putting the car in park, I turn with the gentlest smile I can muster.
Which likely isn’t all too gentle given the piercings and tattoos. “You ready to see your new home?”
She nods and takes a deep breath, drawing my attention to the swell of her breasts beneath the hospital branded t-shirt we bought at the gift shop when we realized she didn’t have any clothes to wear home from the hospital.
I feel like a bastard for looking when she’s so vulnerable so I turn away and exit the car as fast as I can, rounding the hood to open Lainey’s door for her.
“Oh! You don’t have to?—”
“I want to,” I interrupt her.
She doesn’t say anything else, and I lead her up the stairs to the front door, where Lucky is waiting with a stupid grin that takes up his entire face. I’m mentally writing my speech about him scaring her off when Lainey pipes up from beside me.
“Wow ball boy, kinda thought you would get lost on the way back. Not sure if I’m happy or disappointed you didn’t.”
I choke on a laugh, coughing into my fist as Lucky’s grin gets impossibly bigger.
Now I’m starting to understand what Wyatt meant when he called her the dog walker.
My pack mate is panting after her like a hungry puppy and Lainey looks all too reluctant to be the one holding the leash.
Clearing my throat, I lead the sassy little thing past Luck and into the foyer.
She’s looking around like she can’t believe what she’s seeing before she turns to me with wide eyes. “This is like… a real house.”
“As opposed to a doll house?”
She laughs quietly, eyes flicking around the space like they can’t decide what to settle on first. “No, smart ass. I just mean I thought you guys would be in an apartment or maybe the dorms. I thought Lucky lived in the football house…” she trails off and looks to him for confirmation.
He blushes as soon as her eyes land on him and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I do have a room there if I need to crash after a night out or a late game and don’t want to drive home, but no, we all live here.”
Lawson clomps down the stairs in his heavy work boots, drawing our attention.
I can practically smell the stress coming off him in waves, turning his gingerbread scent so spicy it burns my nose and throat.
I watch as his green eyes scan Lainey from head to toe once, then twice, before finally settling into something calmer.
“Hey,” he murmurs. I’m not used to my best friend being so soft, but it makes sense.
He has to make decisions all day, every day, some of which are in high stress, life or death situations.
I hope Lainey can give him a soft place to land and be a source of comfort eventually.
“Your room is ready upstairs. Double doors down at the very end. Tomorrow when you’re feeling a little more settled we can take you into town and get you everything you’ll need to stay here for a while, if that’s alright with you. ”
The last bit is added almost as an afterthought, and I have to fight not to laugh. Law isn’t used to asking. At work he just barks orders and people hop to, but I think he knows as well as we do this omega is skittish and wouldn’t allow any of us to boss her around.
I wonder if that’ll change when we’re naked.
The thought of Lainey submitting to me sends a shiver down my spine, but I shove it away. Now is not the time to think about getting my omega naked. “Should we go see if we can scrounge up some soft blankets for your room until you can get a few tomorrow, darlin’?”
She nods reluctantly, but as soon as we’re halfway up the stairs and away from the prying eyes of our pack, her hand lands on my arm, squeezing so tight I think it might actually bruise.
My wide eyes find hers only to see panic filling those pretty brown eyes.
“Rhys, I can’t afford to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe!
Not to mention replacing all of my nesting materials, textbooks, supplies, my phone, laptop. Oh my god, how am I going to?—”
My omega is spiraling, and the acrid scent of rancid berries drives my alpha to do something stupid.
I slant my mouth over hers and seal our lips together, desperate to distract her and stem the flow of terrified pheromones seeping from her body.
I keep it short, but it does the trick anyway.
Her body melts into mine with the familiarity of two lovers that have been together for decades rather than two strangers who fell into a scent match less than forty-eight hours ago.
Her lips are soft against mine, breath sweet like her scent, and it takes everything in me to pull away and be the steady presence she so desperately needs in this moment.
“Listen to me very carefully, Lainey.” The use of her real name gets her attention, eyes snapping to mine even as her chest heaves.
“First of all, the phone is a nonissue. Law found it at the scene and snuck it out for you in case you needed to get ahold of anyone.” I hand her the shitty little brick phone which somehow came out of the fire completely unscathed.
“Second, Lawson and Lucky are very well off. I won’t go into specifics because that’s tacky and not my story to tell, but know that they could buy you a damned house in the Bahamas and it would be less than a drop in the bucket of their combined net worth.
We aren’t asking you to pay for a damn thing.
In fact, I will personally make sure you don’t.
You don’t know us yet, and I know it’s scary to rely on strangers.
But you said it yourself, you don’t have anyone else close enough to help, and you’re carrying our baby.
Let us do this. Let us help you, help this little bean.
” I place my hand on her belly, immensely pleased when she melts into me.
“ Please, darlin’ .” I’m practically begging, but I couldn’t care less.
The need to care for her is a driving force behind everything right now.
Every single one of us would rather walk across a parking lot full of angry rattlers before letting her lift a single finger right now.
It feels like I’ve won a battle when she quietly agrees and leans into me, allowing me to wrap my arms around her waist in a gesture that’s soothing me as much as it is her.
God, it’s almost unbelievable how well she’s handling everything.
We’ll have to keep an eye on her the next few days and make sure she isn’t repressing her emotions about it all.
It seems like our little darlin’ has been on her own longer than we know, and she won’t ever have to be again.
Lainey Ryan is our omega, and I’ll make damn sure she knows it.